the asylum

This morning I had the extreme pleasure of joining a group of fellow editors for breakfast at Barneys with Simon Doonan. Best morning ever. The occasion? A lively reading of the creative ambassador's latest book, The Asylum. As you may have guessed from its title, The Asylum recounts Doonan's favorite memories from his career in the mad, mad world of fashion. And, boy, is it hilarious. Doonan's recollections of his run-ins with industry notables (think: Tom Ford, Diana Vreelan, Kate Moss, and Bill Cunningham) will most certainly make you laugh out loud. But as entertaining as hearing Doonan read portions of his book was, my favorite part of the breakfast was the Q&A afterward. That's when Doonan doled out some of the best style advice I've ever heard: 1. "Nothing ever goes out of style. You can be rockabilly or a sexy secretary. Figure out what your look is and shop it." 2. "The important thing is not to be masochistic. Women are so hard on themselves. Don't do that. No one is keeping score." 3. "When in doubt, be sure you are totally backlit." That last one really cracks me up. What are your best pearls of style read more

No one tells it like it is in the fashion business quite like Simon Doonan, the creative ambassador for Barneys New York. Simon, a prolific (and brilliantly hilarious) writer of several books (including one that became a BBC TV series) and former columnist for the New York Observer, has no shortage of fun, informative and often belly laugh-inducing tales that give us a glimpse into his colorful life in fashion and retail with his real-life stories of "glamorous madness and stylish insanity." Lucky for us, Simon hasn't put the pen down yet. He has a rom-com of a memoir, The Asylum, which will be on sale starting Tuesday. I call it a rom-com, because his book not only celebrates the foibles of the fashion biz, but also he describes it as a love letter to the industry. I spoke to Simon this morning on a wide range of fashion-related topics, from what he REALLY thinks about fashion trends to his love of street style and his advice on how to get a career in fashion. Simon Says: On Trends: I would tell shoppers not to worry about the zeitgeist. For example, 10 years ago leopard print was actually a trend. read more